Five things you should know about estate planning in Portugal
By International Adviser, 14 Feb 17
For British expats living in Portugal, or for those with Portuguese assets, the local equivalent of inheritance tax maybe relatively straightforward, says director of Blevins Franks Jason Porter, but succession law is very different. If advisers do not understand the rules, their client’s estate may not be distributed in line with their wishes or could attract more taxation than necessary.
Before August 2015, Portuguese law automatically applied the law of your nationality to your estate. For UK expatriates, this meant you did not need to take any action to ensure your estate was distributed as you wished – in line with appropriate UK law – rather than according to Portuguese forced heirship rules.
Now, under the ‘Brussels IV’ EU regulation, the default is that the laws of your resident country apply. So if you are Portuguese resident, your spouse and direct family could be on track to automatically inherit at least half of your estate.
You still have the freedom to nominate UK law, but you must now state this in your will. Any wills pre-dating mid-2015 are unlikely to take this into account so should be reviewed.
Take care, however, as applying Brussels IV is complex and could present unwelcome tax implications. Make sure you explore all the options available to achieve your objectives.
Tags: Blevins Franks | Estate Planning | IHT | Portugal
